Gara LaMarche

Gara LaMarche "is President and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies. He joined Atlantic in April 2007 to lead the organisation through its final chapter as the foundation disburses its remaining $4 billion endowment and completes active grantmaking by 2016.

"Before joining Atlantic, LaMarche served as Vice President and Director of U.S. Programs for the Open Society Institute (OSI), a foundation established by philanthropist George Soros. LaMarche joined OSI in 1996 to launch its U.S. Programs, which focuses on challenges to social justice and democracy.

"LaMarche previously served as Associate Director of Human Rights Watch and Director of its Free Expression Project from 1990 to 1996. He was Director of the Freedom-to-Write Program of the PEN American Center from 1988 to 1990, when PEN played a leading role in campaigns to lift Iran’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie and challenged restrictions on arts funding in the United States.

"He served in a variety of positions with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), with which he first became associated at age 18 as a member of its national Academic Freedom Committee. He was the Associate Director of the ACLU’s New York branch from 1979 to 1984 and the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas from 1984 to 1988. At the Texas ACLU, he led campaigns to provide adequate representation for death row inmates and oppose discriminatory treatment of persons with AIDS in the early days of the epidemic.

"LaMarche is the author of numerous articles on human rights and social justice issues. He teaches a course in philanthropy and public policy at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, and was an adjunct professor at New School University and The John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

"LaMarche serves on the boards of PEN American Center and The White House Project, as a member of the selection committee for the Sundance Documentary Fund, and on the Leadership Council of Hispanics in Philanthropy."

Gara LaMarche Before joining OSI in 1996, LaMarche served as associate director of Human Rights Watch and was director of its Free Expression Project (1990-1996) and the Freedom-To-Write Program of the PEN American Center (1988-1990). From 1976 to 1988, he served in a variety of positions with the American Civil Liberties Union, including associate director of its New York branch (1979-1984) and executive director of the Texas Civil Liberties Union (1984-1988). In 1988-1989, he was a Charles H. Revson Fellow on the Future of the City of New York...


 * LaMarche serves on the board of directors of PEN American Center and ARTICLE 19, on the U.S. advisory committee for Index on Censorship, a London-based human rights magazine, and on the advisory committee for the Human Rights Watch Women's Rights Division.


 * Member, New York Jobs with Justice
 * Director, White House Project
 * Advisory Board, Diversity in Philanthropy